Take a Walk
by TetrisEffect
Summary: Ghost pokémon are not to be taken lightly. Morty, an alleged ghost-type expert, faces severe consequences for mingling with them. One-shot.


Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

I wrote this story in December 2017, and this story references the games, and the Pokémon Special (Adventures) manga. Warning: Character death, but nothing graphic.

* * *

Astral projection could be costly, especially when ghost pokémon were involved. They wanted Morty to cross death's threshold as if it were an ordinary corporal door. The trainer knew the risk of his trespassing as he viewed his vaporous ghost pokémon drifting near the intersection. He remained unsure if he'd be allowed to retreat if he traveled too far. Morty, a clairvoyant, resolved to go the extra mile. He endeavored not just to see elsewhere in his mind, but to be there instead. His ghost companions guided him here, of all places, and it disturbed him. There was no land or any tangible object beyond the barrier, just bright light. A peaceful silence clung to the area. His Gengar beckoned him as it jumped back and forth across the invisible line dividing the dead from the living.

Morty shook his head, remaining rooted to the spot a healthy distance from the threshold. The gym leader was surprised that he had reached the land of limbo, but he couldn't stomach going farther. He caught glimpses of humans and pokémon flashing by him as they unconsciously crossed into death. Morty turned on his heel to leave the dangerous place while he still had his senses with him. He wanted to return to his earthly body before he was tempted to venture beyond life itself. He started to follow the silver cord which connected him to the physical plane and its safety.

His ghost pokémon did not like his flight. The clairvoyant had seen too much already. On the cusp of death, they were upon their trainer. His Gastly, Haunter, Misdreavus, and Gengar forced him to come with them as they dragged him to the true barrier. Amid the capture, Morty's Gengar, who had been otherwise loyal to him until now, divided the silver cord connecting Morty to the lower planes with a shadow claw. The betrayal filled Morty with fury and dread. He thrashed in the ghosts' grasps to free himself, but all was for null. Pokémon always surpassed people in strength, whether it was mental, physical, or spiritual.

Morty's Gengar flashed a devilish smirk at his now former master. The ghost pokémon had succeeded in gaining another of its kind, and Morty will be with him for eternity.

In the land of the living, the young man's body remained atop a round cushion used for meditation. Within Morty's meditation room, the candles he lit prior to the session had burned down to their sockets, and the incense stick formerly upon its iron pedestal was nothing but a faint row of ash. He remained there sitting with his legs crossed, his eyes lightly closed. Any observer could reason that he was asleep.

No one heard from Morty for days. Eventually, a friend had entered the house to ensure if his fellow was all right. The neighbors reported that the gym leader hadn't left his house since Tuesday, which was three days ago.

The friend's worries multiplied when he noticed his friend's front door was unlocked. He needed to find his friend, _now._

The friend, Eusine, found him on his pillow, passed out as if he had been sleeping. He had fallen over, and his body had withered its excess weight, the little it had, from lack of food.

Morty had no known illnesses, or if he did, he kept them to himself. His friend grabbed him by the shoulders, attempting to shake him awake. The other didn't respond as his form flopped about like a rag doll. He was not dead, for his body still released heat, and his chest rose at intervals when his friend wasn't floundering to rouse him.

Eusine phoned for an ambulance, and the paramedics came promptly. They hoisted the unconscious man out of the house upon a stretcher. The mystic hunter weaved his hands through his hair as the police began to ask him questions.

Was he on any medications? Had he taken any drugs?

Eusine heaved out a sigh. Why did so many people discredit his friend's abilities? Sabrina in the Kanto region did not receive the same reprimand.

Eusine went to the hospital after the police finished their brief interrogation. He had little information to give them, for he had been out of town when his friend had become blighted. Morty received various tests to identify the reason for his condition, and during this period neither doctors nor nurses allowed for anyone to visit Morty. Eusine waited in the lobby as he noted that Morty's colleagues began to appear at the hospital after they learned the news. Morty's immediate family received the information first as expected. He was estranged from his mother, and his father had died years ago. It was pitiful- his mother hadn't shown up, and the call the hospital relayed to her was brief. Eusine knew that Morty's relationship with his mother was not a good one. Morty became consumed by Ecruteak's legends at a young age. After training with the monks and following their strict etiquette, she believed that her son's mind had become tainted by their destructive dogma.

The doctors followed by informing Morty's colleagues after the family received the news. Eusine was relieved when the doctors mentioned that no foreign substance was in his system. He had not suffered any brain injury. He wasn't malnourished, despite his appearance. He had not suffered cardiac arrest, although Eusine already knew such. They found no preexisting conditions to explain his poor condition.

However, he was in a comatose state.

A teary-eyed Whitney buried her face in her hands besides Eusine. She was the first gym leader to show up, and out of sheer pity, Eusine held the pink-haired teenager in his arms to comfort her.

It wasn't effective- Eusine could only stare, lost in sorrow at a surprisingly contemplative Clair across from him, who cast her eyes down to the floor. How did such a thing happen to Morty, of all the leaders? Why didn't any of them check up on him sooner?

An older man's voice nearby said, "What about his pokémon? Shouldn't they know what has happened to their trainer?"

Eusine glanced to his left and Whitney retreated from him. Pryce gazed at the doctor who had offered the report to them. If Morty was comatose, a replacement gym leader was to be needed immediately until he came to. Pryce then glanced to Eusine, for the Suicune hunter was the closest friend Morty had standing in the room.

Good question- where were his pokémon? The police had investigated Morty's entire house for evidence, and if they found out where his pokémon lingered, they would extract information from them, dispute how difficult it may be for the ghosts to co-operate.

"There were no pokémon in his house, not even any hint that his gaseous pokémon had been there. The air was stale like nothing had stirred…" Eusine felt the words as if they were foreign in his mouth. His friend's pokémon could disappear at will, and for none to be by him, and for all of them to be contained in their pokeballs was improbable. Morty was aided by his ghost pokémon when he visualized elsewhere using his clairvoyance.

Was it possible he got lost, as strange as that was? Morty told Eusine that the gym leader tapped into a different level of consciousness to view remote objects and future visions.

"What's going on?" Faulkner snapped, observing Eusine's mixed emotions upon his face. "Are you hiding something from us?" The flying-type gym leader directed an accusatory finger at Eusine. "You know something we don't!"

Eusine held up a finger as he fled the room. He sprinted down the hall and two flights of stairs, and then he exited through the hospital's entrance. There was a person he needed to call, _right now_. Eusine pulled out his pokegear and dialed a preset number that Morty himself had given him. He needed an answer for himself and for the waiting gym leaders.

The phone dialed the number, and it rang once. Twice. Three times.

"Please pick up, please…" Eusine said, his breath visible in the cold evening air.

Eusine was washed with relief after he heard, "Hello?"

"Oh, Elder, I'm so sorry to disrupt you, but…"

The man cut Eusine off as he inserted, "This is about Morty, isn't it?"

Eusine paused. He said, "Yes sir."

The elder seemed to be messing with his phone, for the sound crackled on Eusine's end. Eusine reminded himself that the elder used a corded phone, one which had faulty wires. The elder insisted that the cellular devices interfered with his ability to perceive, and thus the man didn't use one.

"I've heard he's in a coma."

"He is," Eusine mumbled, still refusing to believe that as reality.

"Unfortunate," the man said. "I guess he hadn't been strict enough with himself."

Eusine remained silent as he awaited further explanation. Morty was a serious, self-disciplined individual- so what did this mean?

"You speak like Morty is already gone… he's still alive!" Eusine grumbled.

"Not quite."

Eusine's heart palpitated with anticipation. "What?"

"Eusine, I'm sure you know what the clairvoyant has done."

Eusine gulped. His friend's ghost pokémon were absent. Morty was comatose with no apparent cause.

"You know where he has gone, Eusine."

"No… no!" the young man hollered, repeating the word countless times. Unbeknownst to him, several of the gym leaders discovered Eusine protesting his denials outside the hospital's entrance. It sent a harsh ripple over the onlookers.

Eusine turned toward the throng of people, noticing that calm, sweet Jasmine had joined the ranks of Whitney, Faulkner, Pryce, and Clair. The two remaining gym leaders were to arrive soon. The authorities alerted the Elite Four and Champion, and those trainers would come to debate about what was to be done as Morty was unable to perform his duties.

Jasmine's solemn face caused Eusine to waver.

"Morty has walked too far, Eusine," the elder said before hanging up.

Eusine's phone remained in his hand as he slowly lowered it from his ear. His gaze was on nothing, as his thoughts got the better of him.

Jasmine approached Eusine. Being a shy girl, this surprised him for she spoke to him before the others. "What's wrong with Morty, Eusine?"

Eusine hung his head when he observed Jasmine's glossy eyes. It was painful to acknowledge that many people cared for Morty despite their seldom showing it. If the leaders had shown more appreciation for the Ecruteak City gym leader, Morty might have been more cautious in his ventures.

"Morty's a clairvoyant, as you all know. He…" Eusine stopped. He found his bearings as he steeled himself to explain once more. "He searched too far alongside his partners, and crossed…" he trailed off.

The leaders were overcome with sorrow after they understood the implication in Eusine's words.

Eusine gazed toward the western sky as the sun prepared to dip below the horizon. Morty had only one medium of salvation at that point, and that could only appear in the form of a rainbow across the sky.

Eusine could hope. Months passed, however, with little change to Morty. A new gym leader, appointed by the league, took Morty's place to satisfy awaiting trainers. Monks and mediums in Morty's ilk prompted pulling Morty off life support. They- the league, gym leaders, and Morty's teachers- had accepted his fate far before Eusine did.

Ho-oh never came to revive Morty like Suicune and its brethren.


End file.
